Americans Dominate the Cairns Cup

Carissa Yip wins and gets her second GM norm; Alice Lee finishes a close second.

The Cairns Cup is a kind of Sinquefield Cup for women, and this year’s edition, the fifth, saw the two Americans, who were also the two lowest-rated players, take first and second. 21-year-old IM Carissa Yip, the two-time defending U.S. Women’s Champion (and winner three of the last four years) won the event with 6/9 and achieved her second GM norm in the process. (She needs one more norm and to gain another 47 rating points to get the title.)

Hot on her heels was 15-year-old IM Alice Lee, the two-time defending Women’s American Cup winner. Had she managed to defeat Yip in the last round she would have won the event and made a GM norm, but Yip, with White, was able to maintain control and hold the draw pretty comfortably. Still, it was a terrific result for the teenaged Lee, who is to my mind a favorite to achieve the GM title in the next few years.

Lest you think they triumphed over weak opposition, this was not the case. The field included two former Women’s World Champions: Mariya Muzychuk and Tan Zhongyi (who also played Ju Wenjun earlier this year for the women’s title) and 2011 Women’s World Championship finalist Humpy Koneru. Playing at home surely helped Yip and Lee, but they’re also good and talented.